Monday, November 22, 2010

With Thanksgiving just a short three days away, I thought I would finally put up my pie crust leaves tutorial! I've these pictures for about two months now, but to be perfectly honest, I had completely forgotten about them until I was making pumpkin pies earlier. (For my dad's work potluck) The pies are in the oven right now, so I thought I would take the opportunity to post this tutorial. Pies are my thing. I love to make them, I have all kinds of knifty gadgets for them, I collect pie plates, and pie birds, and I've been making pies alongside my grandmother and mom since I was about 3 years old. For me pies aren't just about the taste. Texture quality and presentation are also hugely important. I have spent many hours perfecting my pie crust recipe and technique to create a tender flaky crust. My grandma taught me as a toddler how to flute the edges of the crust to give it that extra touch of love. My mom taught me this next trick of presentation. Colored Pie crust leaves! I recently took this pie to a potluck, and you would not believe how astounded people are at the presentation, and honestly, though it does take a bit of time, they are really easy to make. So, without further ado, the tutorial. The amounts I've specified only make enough for one pie, so bear that in mind if you are making more than one pie!

You will need:A half batch of pie dough (most recipes make enough for one double crust or two open faced piesfloura rolling pinLarge and small leaf cookie cuttersEgg yolkfood coloringa small pastry paintbrushaluminum foilCookie sheet

1. Roll out pie dough fairly thin about 1/8-1/4 inch thick, and cut out 15-20 leaves. Cut both large and small leaves. This will give the pie a better appearance and the little leaves allow you to fill in where the big leaves leave gaps.

2. (Optional) If you'd like your leaves to have more detail and look more realistic, score veins into the leaves with a sharp paring knife (I know you can't really see the picture, but I am sure you can use your imagination! :) )

3. Take a length of aluminum foil and roll it into a log, crumpling it slightly as you go, varying the thickness and severity of your crumpling. (for the smaller leaves, it will have to be a lot tighter than this log!)

4.Take the yolks from two eggs and seperate evenly between three small dishes. (If you'd like your colors less vibrant, use whites instead of the yolk) Put two-three drops of food coloring in each dish. (I made yellowish orange, green and reddish orange for my colors)

5.Start randomly painting the colored egg yolk onto your leaves.

6. When you have finished coloring the leaves, drape them over the aluminum foil logs. Make sure you vary the direction the leaves are lying so they aren't all the same.

7. Bake the leaves at 350* for about 5 minutes to start, and then add time from there on. You will want to watch them carefully, because they can be rather finicky, depending on how heavily painted they are. You don't want them really crisp, just barely done (but not underdone) is how you want them.

Assembly:

Let your pie cool for about 15 minutes and the leaves for about 5 minutes before you put them on the pie. You want your pie to be slightly warm so the leaves will stay on the crust, but not so hot that the leaves will sink into the filling. So, just use your judgment, and don't rely on my times! Place the leaves carefully around the edge of the crust. For mine I tried to do large-small, large-small-small, but just do what works for you. Also save one or two leaves to place in the middle where the knife marks are from testing the pie!

I hope this tutorial helps you create a beautiful and unique pie for Thanksgiving this year! If you have any questions or if any of the steps leaves you puzzled don't hesitate to ask or email me, I'll try to get back as soon as I possibly can!

This is Elissa, the baker of the family. Since her mother's illness, She's had to break out of her normal mode of baked goods - bread, cookies, pies, and casseroles and branch out in to more diverse branches of cookery. She's loving the experience so far, though many failures have come her way in the past few months. Her favorite things to cook are pies (sweet and savory), scones, muffins, and soups. Her mother often says she's the adventurous one, always ready to try something new.

Meet the Cooks

This is Heather, the experienced chef, baker, and superp homemaker. Heather is an amazing cook, and never fails to elicit compliments from all who taste her cooking. She loves to make tea time dainties, as well as excellent wholesome food for her family. She has been in agonies lately not being able to help her fumbling daughter in the kitchen, but still is ready and willing to to help when Elissa needs help. She is experienced in making up her own recipes, and though she often says Elissa is the adventerous one, she still loves to go out on a branch now and then and try something completely new and delicious! (this by the way was written by her loving daughter! )